The present invention relates to devices used for bidding in the game of bridge.
Bridge is a partnership game with two players to each partnership. Players are given the names North, South, East and West, corresponding to points on the compass. That is, North sits opposite South, and East sits opposite West. North and South are a partnership, and East and West are a partnership. Before each hand is played, an auction is conducted to decide which suit of the four, hearts, spades, clubs, or diamonds, will be the trump suit, the cards in the trump suit having more power to win tricks than the cards in any other suit. At this time it is decided which partnership will be the defense, and which partnership will contract to win a certain number of tricks. A trick includes the play of one card from each player""s hand, and the player who plays the most powerful card wins the trick.
In the duplicate form of contract bridge, bidding boxes and convention cards are used to conduct a silent auction in order to avoid any vocal inflections that, in a verbal auction, might give one""s partner unauthorized information about the contents of one""s hand. Each hand includes 13 of the 52 cards that have been dealt from the 52 cards in the deck. Each of four players thus holds 25% of the cards in the deck. In duplicate bridge, the cards patterns, or hands, are dealt and put into a holder called a board. The board keeps each of the four hands from getting mixed up. After a certain number of hands are dealt and played, the boards, as well as the East-West pairs, move from table to table, so that the players, as well as the hands in each board, are played by different partnerships throughout the bridge session. The results, or scores, are compared at the end of the playing period, and whichever pairs has the best results, when the scores from all boards are compared, win the bridge session.
Tournament play requires the use of bidding boxes so that each player makes a bid silently by removing the appropriate bid player card from the bidding box and displaying it in an accepted manner, even if the bid made is inappropriate or in violation of existing contract bridge bidding rules.
Currently available bidding boxes are all designed to facilitate silent bidding. These devices were meant either to sit on top of the playing table or to be mounted on the side of the table.
The first previously known bidding device is the Bid Box from Germany. This is a cone piece design made of a flexible composite. The underside or bottom of the device has a lid that snaps in place, which is where the cards are stored when not in use. The cards can be removed and placed into a slotted area on the top rear of the box. The cards rest on the inside of the bottom lid so that they are maintained in an upright position. Unfortunately, the design of this box permits it to slide easily on the table, so that it can easily be knocked off, causing the cards to fly out of the box. When the box is mounted on the side of a card table, the lid must be closed properly to prevent the cards from falling out. Also, the cards may fall through the bottom if too much pressure is put on the lid when replacing the cards after bidding. The open area on top allows dirt and debris to enter the box and allows the cards to soil easily. Storing and stacking the boxes is cumbersome because of the design of the boxes. These boxes are generally made from soft plastic.
Another one-piece design is the Neo-classic from Sweden. This box works exactly like the Bid Box, but the top of the box has been rearranged so that the two slotted areas are evenly centered over the base. This modified shape make it easier to stack boxes on top of each other, but the boxes require a lot of space because of their size. The two open slots are sized differently. The front, smaller, slot holds the pass, double, re-double, alert, and stop cards. The other, larger, slot contains the bid cards. For the cards to remain upright, they must rest on the inside bottom lid. This box slides off the table easily, is big and bulky, and takes up a lot of table space. When the box is attached to the table, the cards can fall out of the bottom in the same way as with the Bid Box. The open area on top allows dirt and debris to enter the box, and allows the cards to soil easily. This box is made of a semi hard composite and is relatively durable.
The Universal Bidding Box appears to be the only two piece bidding box currently available. This box also originates in Sweden. The composite of which the box is made is thick, hard plastic, and is sturdy in design. This box takes up the smallest space on the table, and its seat design is quite unique. Cards are easy to grab, but the box, when placed on the table, is the least stable of all known biding boxes, and it can be knocked off the table quite easily. When the box is knocked over, the cards fly out onto the floor, although the box works well when bracketed to the table. This box is difficult for many people to open and close, and thus it requires directions on the top and bottom. This box is the most cumbersome for storage, principally because of its shape. The boxes do not stack at all. The boxes can be linked or snapped together, but this is impractical, so that storage is a problem. The open area in the middle of the box permits dirt and debris to enter the box and soil the card, although not to the extent as the Neo or the Bid Box.
The Pocket Style bidding box is a one-piece bidding box which is easy to use. However, it takes up too much room on the table to be useful, and it is difficult to close the unit. The cards must be repositioned when the box is opened to play and when the box is closed. The cards are difficult to reposition and are often misplaced in this box. This causes bending of some of the cards. However, the cards are totally enclosed, so that dirt and debris are prevented from entering the box and soiling the cards. Because it takes up too much room on the table, this is the least used box. However, it is easily stackable and thus uses less storage space than some of the other boxes. This box uses a composite that is both flexible, non-flexible, and thin material. The material of the which the box is made is not sturdy.
The Bridge Partner from Sweden is easy to use; the flip box is easy to open and close. When the box is flipped open, the cards are ready to use. This box is easy to stack and when installed on the side of a table it works well. Unfortunately, this box does not sit flat on the table, and it is so light that it slips and slides around on the table and is very easily knocked over. Even if a strip of gripping material is placed under the entire box, the design of the box still causes the box to be knocked over very easily, strewing the cards on the floor. The slot in the back of this box holds the alert cards; if they are not moved to the front of the box they may be crushed. The open area in the middle of the box allows dirt and debris to enter the box, soiling the cards. The cards are slightly tilted, which makes the cards easier to read than with other box designs. The box is very light.
The Trio Bidding box from Sweden is one of the most recently developed biding boxes. It is rectangular and longer than any of the other boxes described above. This is a flip box with three compartments. The small pass cards, etc., are in the front, and the suit cards are in the back of the box. The stop and alert cards lie flat in the middle. This box is easy to store and easy to open although it takes up more room than many other boxes and thus crowds the table. When the box is opened for use, it does not lie flat. When the covers of the box are opened, the box rests on the thin bottoms of the covers. This box is very light, slippery, and is easy to knock over, although it can be mounted on the side of the table. The open area in the middle of the box permits dirt and debris to enter the box to soil the cards. This box has large alert and stop cards. When opened, the front compartment has two pointed ends that stick up over the cards, making it easy to poke or hit the box with the hand, making this box vulnerable to being knocked over.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bridge bidding box which is easily opened and closed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bridge bidding box in which the cards are always in place and ready to use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bridge bidding box which lies flat on a table.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bridge bidding box that prevents cards from falling out if the box is knocked over.
According to the present invention, a bridge bidding box is provided comprising two parts: a bottom part and a top part. When the box is opened, the bottom part is removed and placed into a cut out area of the top part. The cut out area of the top part is angled so that when the bottom part is placed into this cut out area, the cards in the bottom part are automatically angled backwards, making it easier to see and remove the bid cards form the box. This configuration allows the entire box to lie flat on the table, providing stability and proper weight distribution. The bottom of the box is provided with non-skid gripping material, which prevents the box from moving or sliding on the table. When the bottom part is placed into the top part, the top part is at such an angle and weight distribution that it is difficult to tip over the box.